Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a pedestrian protection airbag device.
Related Art
A pedestrian protection airbag device is known that inflates and expands an airbag from a lower face side of a rear end portion of a hood of a vehicle, such as an automobile or the like, to protect a pedestrian. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 2004-168111 discloses a structure that is this kind of pedestrian protection airbag device, in which an airbag case is arranged along the vehicle width direction at the lower face side of the hood rear end portion, and an airbag and an inflator are accommodated in the airbag case.
However, with a view to improving aesthetic design, in some vehicles the height of the hood is lowered and the wiper(s) is/are moved to below the hood. However, when the height of the hood is lowered, space between a power unit (engine, etc.) and the hood is reduced. In particular, a vehicle width direction middle region of the hood rear end portion is disposed above members such as an intake manifold and the like, which reduces the space between the power unit and the hood. In addition, the wiper is disposed rearward thereof. Consequently, it is difficult to assure sufficient space in which to dispose the airbag case.